Materials
Abstract
The Quran states that the Ship of Noah was made of planks and دُسُرٍ . The Torah also informs us of the materials used to build Noah's Ark. This concept explores what materials are meant by it.
Full Text
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فَلَبِثَ فِيهِمْ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ إِلَّا خَمْسِينَ عَامًا فَأَخَذَهُمُ الطُّوفَانُ وَهُمْ ظَالِمُونَ
فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَأَصْحَابَ السَّفِينَةِ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا آيَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
And verily, We sent Nuh to his people, and he remained among them a thousand year(s), save fifty year(s), then seized them the flood, while they (were) wrongdoers.
But We saved him and (the) people (of) the ship, and We made it a Sign for the worlds.
Both the Quran and the Torah mention the material which was used to build Noah's Ark:
עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ תֵּבַ֣ת עֲצֵי־גֹ֔פֶר קִנִּ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֶת־הַתֵּבָ֑ה וְכָֽפַרְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֛הּ מִבַּ֥יִת וּמִח֖וּץ בַּכֹּֽפֶר
وَحَمَلْنَاهُ عَلَىٰ ذَاتِ أَلْوَاحٍ وَدُسُرٍ
[Al-Quran 54:13]
Al-Quran 54:13 Translations:
Pickthall: And We carried him upon a thing of planks and nails,
Yusuf Ali: But We bore him on an (Ark) made of broad planks and caulked with palm- fibre
Shakir: And We bore him on that which was made of planks and nails
T.B.Irving: We transported him on something built with planks and caulking
Hamid S. Aziz: And We bore him on that (the Ark) which was made of planks and nails (or ties of palm-fibre)
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali: And We carried him upon (an Ark), well planked and well caulked, (Literally: comprising planks and caulks, with nails)
Muhammad Sarwar: We carried him, (Noah), on a vessel built with boards fixed together with nails,
أَلْوَاحٍ
The triliteral root lām wāw ḥā (ل و ح) occurs six times in the Quran, once for Noah's Ark, thrice for the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed, and once for the Guarded Tablet in which The Quran is inscribed:
Screenshot from corpus.quran.com
In The Bible, the material with which Noah is directed to build the Ark with is also used just once, and as mentioned in the following excerpt:
Screenshot from biblehub.com
دُسُرٍ
The triliteral root dāl sīn rā (د س ر) occurs only once in the Quran, as the noun dusur (دُسُر).
Page 879
According to Wikipedia, Caulking:
'Caulking is both the processes and material (also called sealant) to seal joints or seams in various structures and some types of piping. The oldest form of caulking is used to make the seams in wooden boats or ships watertight, by driving fibrous materials into the wedge-shaped seams between boards. A related process was formerly employed to join sections of cast iron sewerage pipe.
Caulking is also the term to describe the process used to make riveted iron or steel ships and boilers watertight or steamtight.
The same term also refers to the application of flexible sealing compounds to close up gaps in buildings and other structures against water, air, dust, insects, or as a component in firestopping. In the tunnelling industry, caulking refers to the sealing of joints in segmental precast concrete tunnels, commonly by using concrete.'
Discussion
The Quran informs us that the ancients were far mightier. The ancient ruins testify to the Quran's claim. They seem to have used some very different technology, whereby their constructions needed neither mortar nor iron, yet their buildings are standing till this day.
Iron was made pliable for Prophet-King David, who reigned several centuries after The Flood which destroyed the criminal civilisation to whom Noah was sent.
Noah and other believers were saved in a water-borne vehicle, famously referred to as Noah's Ark. The Quran uses the word السَّفِينَةِ (ship) and informs us that the ship was made of something built with planks and دُسُرٍ .
Genesis 6:14, quoted above, mentions Gopher Wood (an unidentified tree) and Kopher, which is generally translated by both Jewish and Christian sources as 'pitch'. At least two sources [Gill's Exposition || John Hinton] mention it might be the Arabic kafura or camphor.
According to Wikipedia, Pitch:
'Pitch is a name for any of a number of viscoelastic polymers. Pitch can be natural or manufactured, derived from petroleum, coal tar or plants. Various forms of pitch may also be called tar, bitumen or asphalt. Pitch produced from plants is also known as resin. Some products made from plant resin are also known as rosin.
Pitch was traditionally used to help caulk the seams of wooden sailing vessels (see shipbuilding). Pitch may also be used to waterproof wooden containers and in the making of torches...'
Various searches and claims have been made about the existence of Noah's Ark, though none have been proven yet. Knowledge of the correct materials, dimensions and location of the ark/ship would help identify it when the time comes. The Quran informs us that it rested on the Judi:
Various searches and claims have been made about the existence of Noah's Ark, though none have been proven yet. Knowledge of the correct materials, dimensions and location of the ark/ship would help identify it when the time comes. The Quran informs us that it rested on the Judi:
وَقِيلَ يَا أَرْضُ ابْلَعِي مَاءَكِ وَيَا سَمَاءُ أَقْلِعِي وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ وَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ
وَقِيلَ بُعْدًا لِّلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ
وَقِيلَ بُعْدًا لِّلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ
And it was said, "O earth! Swallow your water, and O sky! Withhold." And subsided the water, and was fulfilled the Command. And it rested on the Judi.
And it was said, "Away with the people the wrongdoers."
And it was said, "Away with the people the wrongdoers."
[Al-Quran 11:44]
Conclusion
From the translations, dictionary, lexicon and other references mentioned above, one can assume that planks of gopher wood were fastened together and made waterproof with some plant-based material called kopher.
Last updated on September 28, 2019
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